Combined post card and check

ABSTRACT

A process is disclosed for merging promotional information, based on multiple requests and relating to different promotions, into a single stream for the printing and mailing of coupons, checks or other promotional items. The requests relating to a particular promotion are matched with an associated promotion control record, with one or more promotions similarly associated with an account control record in the case of preparing checks. Prior to printing, individual data entries for various promotions are combined, and sorted in a sequence predetermined for qualification for various postal rate classifications, thus to minimize the cumulative cost of mailing the entries. Pertinent information associated with each entry is printed on sheets of card stock, each sheet separable into four individual segments to provide four checks or coupons. Prior to printing, the entries are re-sequenced such that eventual severing of the card stock creates stacks or bundles of mailing items arranged in the desired mailing sequence.

This is a divisional of copending application Ser. No. 07/328,109, filedon Mar. 23, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,955.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to processing promotional items formailing, and more particularly to preparing checks, coupons or otheritems related to several different promotions and serially arrangingthese items to facilitate their bundling prior to mailing.

Consumer product manufacturers routinely engage in promotionalactivities to encourage the purchase of their products. Among theseactivities are mass mailings of coupons, checks or other promotionalitems, either to provide a discount in the form of cash returned tocustomers for purchasing a particular product, or to encouragepurchasers of one product to try another of the manufacturer's products,for example with a discount coupon usable upon purchase of the otherproduct.

Coupons or other documents presented in a form suitable for mailing aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 443,141 (Kittredge) directed to a printedpamphlet including one or more coupons and mailing address information,and U.S. Pat. No. 1,415,596 (McKinnie) directed to an advertising orcoupon device that can be folded into an envelope addressed to thecustomer. A related "alternative value" device is disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 4,722,554 (Pettit), although not in a form suitable for mailing. Asingle sheet of paper includes a negotiable instrument on one side, andone or more coupons on the other. Use of either the coupon or thenegotiable instrument invalidates the other, due to an overlappingarrangement.

The processing of promotions, i.e. providing the appropriate check ordiscount coupon to the customer as a reward for the initial purchase,involves high volume and labor intensive activity including collection,verification and organization of initial proofs of purchase and relatedinformation, preparation of the checks, coupons or other items usingpreprinted stock provided by the sponsor in connection with theparticular promotion, and finally the sorting of individual items basedon their mailing destinations.

At any given time, a typical provider of promotion services, is involvedwith many different promotions of various sponsoring manufacturers.Preprinted forms, when provided by different sponsors, can vary in sizeand shape, thus creating the need to handle individual promotionsseparately. This increases handling expense, not only in added labor,but also in the mailing cost, as it is difficult with a single promotionto accumulate a volume of items sufficient to qualify for certainreduced postage rates, e.g. the reduced rate available for mailpresorted by zip code of the destination. Manual recombination andsorting of items for multiple promotions would be prohibitivelyexpensive.

Frequently checks or coupons are mailed in envelopes, which involvesfurther costs of material for the envelopes, printing the envelopes andinserting items into the envelopes. These further costs can be avoidedby presenting checks in postcard form, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.914,460 (Selden) and in U.S. Pat. No. 1,264,795 (Hill). U.S. Pat. No.1,374,501 (Greig) discloses a postcard used to arrange a "help wanted"advertisement, with a front face of the postcard including thepublisher's address and a stamp location, and the reverse face includingthe advertisement subject matter heading and space in which to write theadvertisement.

As for generating coupons, U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,212 (Mindrum et al)discloses a point of sale computer system for printing redeemablecoupons, responsive to sensing the purchase of certain productspredesignated to trigger printing coupons for products different thanthe triggering product. The system includes a store controller and agroup of terminals connected to the controller. Also connected to thecontroller are storage files relating to products, particular coupons,and a log of coupons. At least one of the terminals is connected to aprinter which prints coupons in a price bar code format responsive tosensing various triggering products. Bar code information includesvalue, expiration date, a manufacturer's code and a product family. Thisinformation also can be printed on the coupon in human readable form.

While this system addresses certain needs in the retail point of saleenvironment, and the various printed forms discussed above aresatisfactory in particular situations, none of these approachessatisfies the unique needs of administering promotions, particularlywhen multiple customers and many different promotions are involved.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a meansfor processing promotions which permits a commingling of items from manydifferent promotions into a single printing stream.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for preparing mailing itemsfor a multiplicity of promotions, utilizing a postcard format of uniformshape and size.

Another object is to provide a means for sorting multiple promotionalitems from different promotions into a series of bundles or groups forconvenient, low cost mailing.

Another object is to provide apparatus for printing pluralities ofchecks, coupons or other promotional items on single sheets of printingstock, in a predetermined printing sequence such that separation ofstacks of printing stock into separate stacks of promotion items,subsequent to printing, forms bundles or stacks of such items arrangedto minimize the cost of postage.

Another object is to provide a system for fulfilling customer requestsbased on a multiplicity of different promotions simultaneously, withmeans for conveniently auditing the progress of individual promotions.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a postcard checkdocument printed in a magnetic ink, in which a customer mailing addresszip code is printed in a U.S. postal service standard bar code form, andin which certain information pertinent to negotiating the check isprinted in a standard magnetically readable character font, with thepostal bar code conveniently removable prior to negotiating the check.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To achieve these and other objects, there is provided a process forpreparing multiple individual promotional mailing items based on aplurality of promotions, in a form to reduce the cost of mailing tomultiple destinations, including the following steps:

a. storing a plurality of promotion entries, each uniquely associatedwith one of a plurality of promotions, in a first bit-encoded datastorage means, each of the promotion entries including a uniquepromotion flag and a promotion legend identifier unique to theassociated promotion;

b. loading multiple data entries into a second bit-encoded data storagemeans, each data entry including a mailing address and one of thepromotion flags;

c. matching the promotion flags to operatively associate the first datastorage means and the second data storage means, and adding each of thepromotion entries to each of its associated data entries, to formmultiple combined entries, and storing the combined entries in a thirdbit-encoded data storage means;

d. sorting the combined entries into sets and subsets independently ofthe promotion flags, with each of the sets corresponding to one of aplurality of different postal mailing rate classifications, and witheach of the subsets corresponding to one of a plurality of differentdesignated postal delivery areas based upon the mailing addresses;

e. arranging the sets and subsets in a predetermined sequence of thecombined entries;

f. generating a plurality of entry images, one image associated witheach of the combined entries, wherein each one of the images includesits associated address and a promotion legend corresponding to saididentifier; and

g. printing the entry images individually upon pieces of printing stockand in a printing sequence dependent upon the predetermined sequence,thereby to form individual printed mailing items, with the mailing itemsserially arranged to facilitate their grouping into bundlescorresponding to the subsets of combined entries.

Preferably, the process further includes storing multiple mailinglocation indicia and their corresponding postal zip codes in yet anotherbit-encoded data storage means, and operatively associating it with thethird data storage means to either confirm the accuracy of the zip code,correct an erroneous or incomplete zip code, or add a zip code.

When mailing items include secondary items prepared for mailing toforeign destinations, or for other reasons not subject to zip codeprocessing, the process includes separating such secondary items priorto performing the above operations on the remaining or primary items.After the operations are performed, the primary and secondary items arere-associated.

In a preferred embodiment, the printing stock includes stacks of sheets,each sheet being severable into four individual and identically sizedsegments corresponding to the individual mailing items. In this event,the printing step involves selectively reordering the predeterminedsequence to provide the printing sequence. Consequently, severing stacksof sheets after printing arranges stacks of the individual segments intothe appropriate bundles of mailing items, grouped for minimal costmailing.

An alternative form of the present invention is a process for printingmultiple checks and arranging the checks in a predetermined sequence tofacilitate low cost mailing to multiple destinations. This processincludes the steps of:

a. loading multiple data entries into a first bit-encoded data storagemeans, each data entry including a payee name, a payee mailing address,a check amount, and one of a plurality of account flags, each accountflag uniquely identifying a checking account maintained in a draweefinancial institution;

b. storing a plurality of account entries in a second bit-encoded datastorage means, each account entry including one of the account flags, achecking account number and drawee information identifying theassociated drawee;

c. sorting the data entries into sets and subsets independently of theaccount flags, with each of the sets corresponding to one of a pluralityof different postal mailing rate classifications, and with each of thesubsets corresponding to one of a plurality of different designatedpostal delivery areas based upon the payee mailing addresses, andarranging the sets and subsets in a predetermined sequence of the dataentries;

d. assigning a check number to each of the account entries, matching theaccount flags to operatively associate the first data storage means andthe second data storage means, to add each of the account entries toeach of its associated data entries, and incrementing the check numbereach time the associated checking account is matched with one of thedata entries;

e. generating a plurality of entry images, one image associated witheach of the data entries, each of the images including its associatedpayee name, payee mailing address, check amount, check number, accountnumber and drawee information; and

f. printing the entry images individually upon pieces of printing stockand in a printing sequence dependent upon the predetermined sequence,thereby to form individual printed checks, serially arranged tofacilitate their grouping into bundles of checks corresponding to thesubsets of entries.

Preferably, each check is in a post card format, with an edge stripseverable from the remainder of the check. The postal zip code, printedin magnetic bar form with a magnetic ink, is then located on the edgestrip, while the check number, account number and certain informationdesignating the drawee financial institution is printed on theremainder, again in a magnetic ink and in a standard magnetic characterfont. Accordingly, the check when mailed can qualify for the lowest cost"bar code" mailing rate. The edge strip is torn away before negotiationof the check, so that the postal bar code no longer is present tointerfere with an accurate magnetic reading of the check and draweeinformation.

In practice, the multiple requests for fulfillment of many promotionscan be organized initially by promotion, for example on magnetic tapereels, one reel associated with each promotion. Promotion controlrecords for multiple promotions can be stored on a magnetic disc, and inthe case of checks, account control records covering a plurality ofchecking accounts are stored on one or more magnetic discs. Acontroller, for example a digital computer, matches the data on themagnetic tapes and discs according to shared promotion numbers andaccount numbers, thus to provide combined or up-dated individual entryrecords.

The individual records further are merged with a record of nine-digitpostal zip codes, stored for example on a magnetic disc, to confirm,correct or provide the nine digit zip code appropriate to each combinedentry. Then, the entries from all involved promotions are sorted,independently of the promotions, into sets according to applicablepostage rates, and subsets according to postal delivery areas based onthe zip codes.

A final sorting operation takes into account the printing of four checks(or coupons) on each sheet of printing stock. Because of this finalsorting, stacks of sheets, when severed after printing, provideindividual stacks of checks or coupons presorted into the appropriatesubsets for minimum postage.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention, large amounts of datafor different promotions and multiple individual entries are processedrapidly and efficiently, with checks and coupons generated in sufficientvolume to qualify for discounted postage, even though individualpromotions may include only a single check or coupon. The use of auniform size and shape of sheet stock for all promotional itemseliminates the problem of excess custom stock. An individualized orcustom appearance is achieved by storing textual information anddigitized logotypes of the sponsor of each promotion. Thus, the costsavings of uniform stock are achieved without sacrificing the sponsor'sdesire to distinguish its promotions from programs of other sponsors.

IN THE DRAWINGS

For a further understanding of the above and other features andadvantages, reference is made to the following detailed description andthe drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatical view of apparatus used in performing aprocess for preparing multiple individual promotional checks or coupons,in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the process;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating part of the process;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating another part of the process;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a negotiable instrument form suited for usein the process;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a negotiable instrument prepared from theform according to the process;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a discount coupon prepared according to theprocess; and

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the discount coupon of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a system forpreparing promotional checks, discount coupons or other promotionalitems in a sequence to facilitate their assembly into bundles of mailingitems, each associated with a designated postal delivery area.Ordinarily, companies sponsoring promotions do not perform theseactivities directly, but rather through a provider of these services.Accordingly, the provider is likely to serve a wide variety of sponsorsor clients, and at any given time may be involved in hundreds ofdifferent promotions with hundreds of thousands of individual items toprepare and mail.

The system in FIG. 1, therefore, is preferably configured to processhigh volumes of items and corresponding data. At the heart of the systemis a central processing unit (CPU) 16, for example an IBM Model 4381main frame computer, operated through a keyboard 18 or other suitabledata entry means. Discount coupons or checks are generated with aprinting system 20 operatively connected to the processing unit. Apreferred printing system is a Xerox Model 8790 electronic printer,which provides hot-fusion laser printing with a dry magnetic ink toenable magnetic reading of information printed on the promotional items.

A number of peripheral devices are operatively connected processing unit16, including a magnetic tape drive 22 and an input magnetic tape reel24 for storing customer entries in bit-encoded form. An output magnetictape reel 26 and a magnetic tape drive 28 are provided for storingupdated customer data entries, each corresponding to one of the originalentries stored on tape reel 24.

A plurality of disc drives are associated with central processing unit16, including a disc drive 30 for storing promotion control records, adisc drive 32 for storing account control records, and disc drives 34and 36 housing VSAM (virtual storage assembly method) cumulativestatistics relating to the production control records and accountcontrol records, respectively. A disc drive 38 contains a plurality ofoperation programs for sorting entries and for assigning andincrementing check numbers, and a disc drive 40 contains mailing areaand zip code information. A disc drive 42 contains custom textualmaterial and logotypes in digital form and relating to individualpromotions and sponsors, along with a file of authorized signatures forvarious checking accounts of individual sponsors. Finally, a disc drive43 contains further customer textual material and logotypes in digitalform, again relating to individual promotions and sponsors. Theinformation stored in disc drive 43 is used only in connection withcoupons, for printing the reverse side of each mailing item.

With reference to FIG. 2, the system of FIG. 1 is employed afterreceiving multiple requests for promotional items and performingpreliminary manual operations. These include prescreening entries toverify purchases, e.g. by a proof of purchase seal, eliminatingduplicates, and sorting entries into batches as at 44, 46 and 48. Eachbatch is associated with only one of the promotions involved, while asingle promotion may include more than one batch.

Each original data entry 50 includes the name and mailing address of acustomer destined to receive the check or coupon, the value (e.g. amountof the check or discount) of the item, and the following identifyingnumbers: a promotion number or flag, a mail lot number, a batch numberand an order number. The promotion flag uniquely identifies the sponsorand the particular promotion. The mail lot number identifies aparticular group of batches. The order number uniquely identifies eachdata entry. The system is used initially by loading multiple dataentries on tape reel 24, using keyboard 18 or other suitable data entrydevice operatively connected to tape drive 22.

If desired, customer requests entered into the system by tape reel 24may be sorted according to promotion flags as indicated at 52, forgenerating reports 54 useful in verifying information prior to furtherprocessing, e.g. by client, by promotion, or by value of the check ordiscount coupon.

Also, prior to further processing, files of bit-encoded data are createdfor adding data to each data entry 50. These include promotion controlrecords 56 stored on disc 30, and account control records 58 stored ondisc drive 32. A single promotion control record, in virtual "cardimage" form, is associated with each of the promotions involved. Eachpromotion control record includes its associated promotion flag oridentification number, and a single bank account number or flag whichuniquely identifies a checking account upon which the check is drawn.Further, the promotion control record includes a logo identifying numberassociated with one of the digitized logotypes stored on disc drive 42,and a text identification number associated with a message of thepromotion sponsor.

Each account control record 58 is associated with a particular checkingaccount, which may cover more than one promotion. Each account controlrecord includes its identifying account flag, the name and address ofthe bank or other drawee financial institution where the checkingaccount is maintained, a check number to be incremented duringprocessing, a signature number identifying an associated authorizedsignature stored on disc drive 42, and other information identifying theinstitution, such as the ABA routing and transit numbers.

As indicated at 60 and 62 respectively, records 56 and 58 are associatedwith VSAM files for maintaining cumulative statistics. In particular,file 60 accumulates check or coupon quantities and amounts organized bypromotion, while file 62 accumulates quantities and amounts by checkingaccount, and assigns and tracks check numbers in sequence in each of theinvolved checking accounts.

The respective production control records and account control recordsare created by entering appropriate information onto their associateddisc drives using keyboard 18 or other suitable entry devices. Aftercreation of these files, CPU 16 matches promotion flags to associateindividual promotion control records 56 with selected data entries 50 toprovide augmented entries 64 as is further explained below in connectionwith FIG. 3. At the same time, each data entry which corresponds to apromotional check in the making is assigned a check number. The checknumber, stored in VSAM file 62 with the associated checking account, isthen incremented.

The augmented data entries are matched with a postal file 66 stored ondisc drive 40 based on the mailing address, in order to verify theaccuracy of a postal zip code, if any, stored as part of the mailingaddress in the original data entry. Based upon a comparison, the zipcode is either confirmed or corrected. A zip code is added if none waspresent. This operation is performed with purchased applicationprograms, for example programs entitled "EZ5" and "M$$$" available fromGroup One Software of Washington, D.C.

These application programs further are used to separate the augmenteddata entries into primary entries 68 for further sorting based on thepostal zip code, and secondary entries 70 not subject to zip codesorting. The secondary entries have addresses outside of the U.S., orare designated for special inspection, usually in connection with thefirst occurrence of a promotion. The primary data entries then aresorted according to various available postage classifications, againwith the application programs. More particularly, the primary entriesare divided into three mailing classifications: a bar code qualifiedclass, a presort qualified class, and a residual class. The bar codequalified class includes only mailing items preprinted with amagnetically readable bar code representation of the nine digit zipcode, and qualifies for the lowest rate of the three classes. Presortqualified mail is given a reduced postage based on prior sorting basedon the zip code.

Each of the three sets of postal rate classifications is further dividedinto subsets corresponding to postal delivery areas. Finally, the postalapplication programs are used in predetermining the required number ofpackages and trays, according to U.S. Postal Service regulations, neededto accommodate the records when organized into these sets and subsets.For example, a typical run may involve from one hundred thousand to onehundred fifty thousand individual entries, with about eighty percent ofthese entries in the bar code qualified class, with the majority of theremaining twenty percent in the presort qualified class. It should benoted that this predetermination and presorting operation is conductedwith the objective of minimum total or cumulative cost of mailing theitems. Thus, certain items may be classified as presort, even thoughprinted with the postal bar code.

Following the predetermination of the optimal mailing arrangement forthe primary entries, the primary and secondary entries are merged. Thusrecombined, the primary and secondary data entries are assignedconsecutive run sequence numbers, beginning with the first subset of thebar code qualified class, and ending with the final subset of non-sortedor secondary data entries. The data entries in each subset are numberedconsecutively, and all of the subsets within a set are assigned a runsequence number before proceeding to the next set, e.g. to number nentries in accordance with the following table:

    ______________________________________                                        Group          Assigned Run Sequence Numbers                                  ______________________________________                                        Bar code qualified                                                                           1 through a                                                    Presort qualified                                                                            (a + 1) through b                                              Residual       (b + 1) through c                                              Secondary entries                                                                            (c + 1) through n                                              ______________________________________                                    

Thus is formed a predetermined sequence of all entries, consecutivelynumbered from 0 though n in a predetermined optimal mailing sequencewhich ultimately determines the loading of labeled boxes of the items tobe mailed.

After the run sequence numbers have been assigned, printer 20 is causedto print a plurality of box labels at 72, each label identifying thepostal rate and classification (set), the postal delivery area (subset)identified by a zip code or grouping of zip codes, and a beginning andending run sequence number. Each label thus corresponds to one of thesubsets of primary and secondary entries, and is designated for eventualaffixation to a box containing a stack of checks or other mailing itemscorresponding to one of the subsets. The labels corresponding to thesecondary data entries identify the postal rate and class, and the firstand final run sequence numbers.

In the presently preferred embodiment, checks, coupons or otherpromotional items are prepared by printing the desired information uponsheets of card stock arranged in stacks, with each individual sheetseverable into four individual promotional mailing items. Accordingly,an obverse face of each single sheet is printed with the appropriateinformation of four data entries such that severance of the sheetsubsequent to printing forms the corresponding four mailing items.

In view of this approach, the data entries must be resequenced asindicated at 74, prior to printing, in order to ensure that the eventualseparation of stacks of printed card stock into the individual mailingitems forms stacks of individual mailing items that replicate thepredetermined optimum mailing sequence, i.e. the aforementionedorganization into sets and subsets. In the present embodiment, sheets ofcard stock are arranged in stacks of fifteen hundred, for eventualseparation into four stacks of checks, coupons or other items.Consequently an optimal printing sequence is generated, depending uponthe optimal run sequence, in accordance with the following table:

    ______________________________________                                        Run Sequence Number                                                                            Printing Sequence                                            ______________________________________                                        0001             0001                                                         0002             1501                                                         0003             3001                                                         0004             4501                                                         0005             0002                                                         0006             1502                                                         0007             3002                                                         0008             4502                                                         .                .                                                            .                .                                                            .                .                                                            5995             4499                                                         5996             5999                                                         5997             1500                                                         5998             3000                                                         5999             4500                                                         6000             6000                                                         ______________________________________                                    

The printing operation 76 can begin as soon as the data entries areorganized according to the optimal printing sequence. Then, inaccordance with the printing sequence, each data entry is read and itsassociated information formatted to create an entry image to be printed.In connection with checks, the reading of each data record is followedby using the account flag to match the data entry with its appropriatechecking account, and the information appropriate to the checkingaccount is formatted along with the remaining information as part of theimage to be printed. As further explained in connection with FIG. 4, theforming of the entry images also involves retrieving promotion legendsincluding the appropriate logotypes and textual material, and authorizedsignatures from library files 78 on disc 42.

Each time four entry images are formatted, these images are printed uponthe obverse face of one of the sheets of card stock whereupon theprinted sheet is removed and the next sheet presented for printing, allwhile the next four consecutive entry images are being formatted. Thesesteps are repeated until the printing sequence is complete.

Following printing, stacks of the printed sheet stock are severed intoindividual stacks of checks, coupons or the like. As a result of theoptimal printing sequence, such individual stacks of items correspond tothe previously discussed subsets and can be directly loaded into boxeslabeled with the printed labels prepared at step 72. The printing andsorting operations leading to printing are completely independent of thepromotion, and thus mailing items from many different promotions arecommingled in each individual box. This of course is immaterial to thedetermination of various postal rates, and the organization of mailingitems to qualify for various postal rates. Nonetheless, the concern ofeach sponsor, that its identity and its promotions are clearlydistinguishable from the identity and promotions of other sponsors, issatisfied in that each entry image is created based upon its associatedpromotion control record and account control record. Each check orcoupon, although commingled with items from many other sponsors, clearlyidentifies its associated sponsor and promotion.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the updating or augmenting of dataentries. As indicated at 80, the process is initiated by opening thefiles of data entries 50, promotion control records 56, account records58, and the associated VSAM files 60 and 62, in particular by CPU 16gaining access to tape reel 24 and disc drives 30, 32, 34 and 36. Anindividual data entry is read, and a search conducted for a matchingpromotion flag among promotion control records 56. If no match is found,the program is aborted as indicated at 82. However, when a match isfound, information from the appropriate promotion control record isadded to the data entry to provide the augmented or updated entry 64.

Next, the augmented data record is matched with account control records58 in search of a matching account flag. If none is found, a new accountrecord is created, and its corresponding check number set at 000001, orother appropriate predetermined initial number, as indicated at 84. Onthe other hand, if a match is found at, the check number existing in thecorresponding account control record 58 is incremented by 1. In eitherevent, the check number is added to the augmented data entry. Theassociated cumulative record on VSAM file 62 is updated at 86 as to thecheck quantity and cumulative dollar amount.

Next, VSAM file 60 corresponding to the promotion control records issearched for a matching promotion flag, as indicated at 88. Upon findinga match, VSAM file 60 is updated in connection with the associatedpromotion, as to the quantity (number of individual entries) andcumulative amount. Conversely, if no match has been found, a newpromotion record is created as at 92 in PCR file 56, corresponding tothe promotion, which is an indication that the particular promotion isappearing for the first time in the run.

At this stage, information relating to the augmented data entry 64 isentered on tape reel 26 for permanent storage.

After entry of the augmented record, the next original data entry 50 isread and the above-described steps are repeated. After the finaloriginal data entry has been processed and the absence of furtheroriginal entry is confirmed, the data entry file is closed at 94, theending check number for each checking account is stored in connectionwith its account in account control records 58. At 96, the filescontaining promotion control records 56, account control records 58 andtheir associated VSAM files are read and audit reports printed. Afterthe printing of audit reports, these files are closed, ending theaugmenting process. At the conclusion of augmenting, tape reel 26includes an augmented data entry 64 corresponding to each original dataentry 50 on tape reel 24, with each augmented entry including theoriginal information, along with the appropriate bank account number ifthe mailing item is a check, a logotype identifying flag, and a flagidentifying textual material of the sponsor for the particularpromotion. Further, each account control record is updated with thecurrent check number, and the associated VSAM files are updated as toquantity and amount.

As seen in FIG. 4, the printing process begins at 98 with the opening ofthe augmented data entry files 64, the account control records 58 andlibrary files 78, in particular through central processing unit 16gaining access to tape reel 26 and tape drive 28, and disc drives 32 and42. Augmented data entries 64 are read as indicated at 100, in the ordercorresponding to the optimal printing sequence. Account control records58 are then searched for a matching account number, and if no match isfound the process is aborted at 102.

Otherwise, the data entry is augmented with the account information at104 and searched at 106 for the presence of a logotype identifying flag,a text identifying flag and an authorized signature identifying flag. Ifthese identifiers are located, the identified logotype, text andauthorized signature are combined with the augmented data entry andpreviously associated account control record, for a combined formattingof the information contained in the augmented data entry, the bankaccount number, bank name, address, routing symbol and transit numberfrom the account control record, and the logotype, textual material andsignature from the library file. If the identifiers are not located, theprocess aborts as indicated at 107.

Following formatting, a count is taken at 108 to determine whether fourdata entries and associated information have been formatted. If not, thenext data entry is read and the process is repeated. Upon the formattingof four entries, the information for the entries is printed on the cardstock sheets as indicated at 110. The process proceeds until all of theaugmented data entries have been read, processed, formatted and printed,whereupon the files are closed and the process terminated.

The present system can process either checks or coupons as the mailingitems. When the mailing items are coupons as opposed to checks, they arehandled in a separate run according to a process including stepsdifferent from those represented in FIGS. 3 and 4. For example, stepsrelating to the account control records such as ACR search, updateACR-VSAM and adding ACR information, are unnecessary. On the other hand,the preparation of coupon mailing items involves incrementing couponswith a coupon number corresponding to the check number in the case ofchecks, and further involves an additional printing step in connectionwith the obverse surface printing described in connection with FIG. 4.More particularly, after the obverse side of each item is printed, thereverse sides of the card stock sheets are presented for printing, inaccordance with the information stored in disc drive 43. Access to thecorresponding reverse side information is achieved by matching promotioncontrol flags, in essentially the same manner as gaining access to theaccount control records when preparing checks.

FIG. 5 shows one segment or card 111 of a sheet 112 of post card stockused in the present system to generate post card checks. As previouslymentioned, each sheet eventually is severed into four checks or othermailing items, with one of four equally sized segments corresponding toeach item.

Before processing in accordance with the present invention, sheet 112may be entirely blank, but preferably is preprinted with certaininformation common to all sponsors and promotions involved, for examplean identification of the provider of the promotion processing servicesat 114, indication of prepaid postage at 116, tear-away instructions at118, and information common to all checks as at 120.

Card 111 is shown in FIG. 6, after the printing of additionalinformation corresponding to the customer, promotion, sponsor andchecking account. Preferably, all of the additional information isprinted in a single step with a magnetically readable ink, thus toenable use of a bar code representation of the nine-digit postal zipcode as indicated at 122, and a standard magnetically readable characterfont to print banking information as indicated at 124 and 126. Moreparticularly, the bank route and transit numbers are printed at 124,with the last six digits of a seven-digit check number written at 126.The full check number is printed near the top of the sheet segment at128.

The check number, the customer name and address, including the zip code,and the check amount all are based on information contained in theaugmented data entry 64, with the zip code information having beenconfirmed, corrected or added using the application programs aspreviously noted. The checking account number, bank name and address,and route and transit numbers are provided according to the associatedaccount control record 58. Finally, a design logotype 130, custom text132 and authorized signature 134 are printed according to library file78, with the appropriate entries in each case having been identified bythe logotype, text and authorized signature identifiers originally inthe associated promotion control record and account control record.

Finally, a series of numbers is printed on the check, including thepromotion flag 136, the batch number 138, the order number 140 which isunique to the individual receiving the check, the mail lot number 142,and finally the run sequence number 144. These numbers facilitate amonitoring of the check preparation and printing process, in that thepromotion flag identifies the sponsor and the particular promotion ofthat sponsor, for a convenient comparison and confirmation that theappropriate design logotype and textual information have been printed.The run sequence numbers confirm that stacks of checks have beenpresorted and printed in the proper order. Run sequence numbers at thetop and bottom of each stack of checks can confirm correspondence to aparticular subset of entries, and can be used to reassemble stacks ofchecks, should they become separated unintentionally, for examplethrough accident or careless handling.

In each sheet segment used as a check, a series of perforations 146 isprovided proximate and parallel to a bottom edge 148 of card or sheetsegment 111, and runs from one side edge 150 to an opposite side edge152. The perforations divide card 111 into a tear-away edge strip 154and a remainder 156. The postal bar code 122 is printed on tear-awaystrip 154, while the banking and checking account information,particularly the information represented in a magnetic ink characterfont at 124 and 126, is printed on remainder 156.

Card 111 is designed as a combination postal card and check, withseparate mailing and negotiation configurations. More particularly, thecard is designed for mailing with strip 154 and remainder 156 attached,to enable a magnetic reading of the nine-digit zip code by postalservice equipment. The customer receiving the card, however, isinstructed to fold the card along perforations 146 and tear, to removestrip 154 prior to depositing or otherwise negotiating the check. Thisremoves bar code representation 122 from the check, to eliminate anypossibility of the bar code representation interfering with an accuratereading of the magnetically readable character font area conveying thebanking and checking account information.

The preparation of coupons is essentially similar to the preparation ofchecks, with the sorting and printing processes simplified due to theabsence of checking account and financial institution information, butwith the added printing and formatting steps relating to the reverseside of each sheet of card stock. FIG. 7 illustrates a segment of asheet 158 of the same card stock used in printing checks, with certaininformation preprinted if desired, such as the promotion processingentity at 160 and postage paid information at 162. Again, all additionalinformation for the obverse side is provided in a single printing steputilizing magnetically readable ink. In the case of coupons, the addedinformation is based totally on the augmented data entries, i.e. theoriginal data entries as updated with information from the appropriatepromotion control records, and with the zip code provided or confirmedfrom the postal record file. A coupon number 164 is printed near the topof the card in lieu of a check number. A stream of numbers againincludes the promotion number at 166, the batch number at 168, the ordernumber 170, mail lot number 172, and run sequence number 174.

The reverse side of sheet 158 is shown in FIG. 8 and includes images fortwo coupons 176 and 178, respectively. Printed on coupon 176 is alogotype 80, textual material at 182 which can be printed in a varietyof different sizes if desired, and a universal product code (UPC) symbol184. Likewise, a logotype 186, text 188 and UPC symbol 190 are printedas part of coupon 178. Both coupons have the same coupon number at 164,as both coupons are part of the same mailing item. Finally, anexpiration date is printed near the top of each coupon.

As noted previously, the information for the reverse side printing ofsheet 158 is stored as a separate library on disc drive 43. Accordingly,logotypes 180 and 186 can be different from one another if desired, anddifferent from the logotype appearing on the obverse side of the sheet.Similarly, UPC codes 184 and 190, which are magnetically readable, canbe identical or different.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention, information relating tomultiple individual requests, made in connection with numerouspromotions, is merged into a single printing stream, in a sequencepredetermined for an optimally low-cost mailing, and furtherpredetermined such that severance of printed stock, into separate stacksof items for mailing, arranges the separate stacks of items according tothe predetermined sequence. A convenient, uniform postal card formatminimizes handling and mailing expense, yet ensures that each promotionand sponsor is identified by custom textual material and logotype.Finally, the card format is uniquely well suited for carrying postal zipcode information, UPC information and checking account information inmagnetically readable form.

What is claimed is:
 1. A postal check including:a unitary, planar sheetof postal check stock having obverse and reverse surfaces and a means tofacilitate severance of the sheet into a removal section and a remaindersection, with said removal section having respective removal obverse andremoval reverse surface portions of said obverse and reverse surfaces,and with said remainder section having respective remainder obverse andremainder reverse surface portions of said obverse and reverse surfaces;an image of a check printed on the obverse surface, including selectedcheck information printed with a first machine readable ink and in afirst machine readable format, said selected check information locatedon the remainder obverse surface portion of said obverse surface; and animage of a mailing address printed on said obverse surface, includingselected mailing address information printed with a second machinereadable ink and in a second machine readable format, said selectedaddress information located on the removal obverse surface portion ofsaid obverse surface.
 2. The postal check of claim 1 wherein:said meansto facilitate severance of the sheet includes a series of perforationsarranged in a straight line from one end edge of said sheet to anotherend edge of said sheet, to facilitate a folding of the sheet along saidline and a subsequent tearing away of said removal section.
 3. Thepostal check of claim 2 wherein:said sheet is rectangular, and saidstraight line of perforations is parallel to and proximate one edge ofthe sheet whereby said removal section comprises an elongate,rectangular strip.
 4. The postal check of claim 1 wherein:said firstmachine readable ink is a magnetic ink, and said first machine readableformat comprises a standard magnetic character font.
 5. The postal checkof claim 1 wherein:said second machine readable ink is a magnetic ink,and said second machine readable format comprises a standard bar coderepresentation of a postal zip code associated with said mailingaddress.
 6. The postal check of claim 1 wherein:said image of a checkincludes an identified payee, and said mailing address is the address ofthe identified payee.
 7. The postal check of claim 6 wherein:saidselected check information includes a check number,
 8. A combined postalcard and check, including:a unitary sheet of card stock havingsubstantially planar obverse and reverse surfaces and severable intoseparate sections including a removal section and a remainder section,with said removal section having a removal obverse surface portion ofthe obverse surface and a removal reverse surface portion of the reversesurface, and with said remainder section having a remainder obversesurface portion of the obverse surface and a remainder reverse surfaceportion of the reverse surface; a first representation in machinereadable ink of selected check information, printed on said remainderobverse surface portion; and a second representation in machine readableink of selected mailing address information, printed only on saidremoval section; wherein said sheet, prior to a severance thereof intosaid removal and remainder sections, is configured for mailing as apostal card; and said remainder section, following said severance, isfree of the second representation and configured for negotiation as acheck.
 9. The combined postal card and check of claim 8 wherein:saidsecond representation is printed only on said removal obverse surfaceportion.
 10. The combined postal card and check of claim 8, furtherincluding:a severance means to facilitate said severance.
 11. Thecombined postal card and check of claim 10 wherein:said severance meansincludes a series of perforations arranged in a straight line from oneend edge of said sheet to another end edge of said sheet, to facilitatea folding of the sheet along said line and a subsequent tearing away ofsaid removal section.
 12. The combined postal card and check of claim 8wherein:said first representation and said section representation are inmagnetic ink.
 13. The combined postal card and check of claim 12,wherein:said first representation is printed in a standard magneticcharacter font, and said second representation is a standard bar coderepresentation of a postal zip code.